Mesenteric ischemia is a potentially lethal condition in which early diagnosis is pivotal. Since simple and readily available diagnostic tools are lacking, mesenteric ischemia is still accompanied with a high morbidity and mortality.
CT-angiography is the golden standard to assess acute mesenteric ischemia with a good sensitivity and good specificity. However, a CT-angiography is associated with important disadvantages for the patient and since the early presentation may be atypical, a CT-angiography is often performed at a later stage of the disease. Intestinal-Fatty Acid Binding Protein (I-FABP) is a cytosolic protein that resides in the intestinal epithelial cell en is detectable in urine and blood during intestinal ischemia. In previous experimental and clinical studies has been shown that iFABP values in blood and urine strongly correlate with intestinal damage and ischemia. In this study we will investigate whether iFABP can be used as a primary diagnostic tool to detect and exclude mesenteric ischemia. I-FABP concentrations in plasma will be correlated to the results of CT-angiography and/ or surgery in a multicentre setting.